"Catastrophic care"

"In every other industry, tech drives down costs..consumers are.perfectly capable of making decisions for themselves" http://t.co/Kdxyr0e9yO
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) October 5, 2013

“Rarely has the irrationality of the system been so convincingly demonstrated.” 

"I greatly appreciate the kind words. But I think he’s missed my point. My argument in Catastrophic Care is in fact that the health care system is very rational. Health care is an industry, and as such, it has responded almost perfectly to the misguided economic incentives wrapped up in private insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Our health care debate is imprisoned by a set of assumptions that have gone unexamined for at least fifty years. Most care, we are told, is used by only a small percentage of patients. Care is so expensive that only insurance could make it affordable to anyone who isn’t rich. Care is too complex, too nontransparent, and too urgent to rely on consumers to serve their normal role. Care is nondiscretionary, so consumers can never have leverage. As the population ages, the cost of care must rise. And most tellingly, technology is driving up the cost of care. In every other industry, technology drives down costs and consumers are considered perfectly capable of making decisions for themselves. But health care experts always argue that their field involves so many unique complexities and irrationalities that it requires massive central assistance and control (usually involving their guidance). My book doesn’t ignore these old chestnuts; it argues they are simply wrong and that their impact on health care policy has been disastrous."